Arsenal director Josh Kroenke has told club staff that Kroenke Sports Enterprises will not entertain any offers to sell the Gunners as Spotify owner Daniel Ek prepares a takeover bid, sources have told ESPN.
Ek is heading a consortium that includes three former Arsenal players -- Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp -- with plans to test KSE's resolve amid fan protests reignited by the collapsed European Super League proposal.
Josh Kroenke, who is owner Stan Kroenke's son, appeared at an online fans forum event on Thursday in which he said KSE had "no intention of selling," and sources have told ESPN that message was reiterated on an internal call with around 350 staff held virtually on Tuesday afternoon.
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During the 50-minute call, which also included Gunners chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, Josh Kroenke spelled out their unwillingness to even consider an approach from any interested parties, that they are committed to the club and that they want to help the team compete for major trophies again.
He also underlined their intent to help provide fresh funds this summer to help manager Mikel Arteta rebuild the first-team squad.
KSE funded the £45 million deal to sign Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid last summer, and Kroenke indicated they are willing to inject more money to pursue new signings despite expecting to lose in excess of £100m in the 2020-21 season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
In March, the Gunners declared a loss of £47.8m for the 2019-20 season, which was affected by COVID-19, and last year made 55 non-playing staff redundant in addition to cutting back on the club's scouting network.
There is also £220m worth of debt on the Emirates Stadium that is covered by KSE, but they told staff that the wider economic climate will not prevent further investment.
KSE released a statement later on Tuesday reiterating their stance on maintaining control of Arsenal. "In recent days we have noted media speculation regarding a potential takeover bid for Arsenal Football Club," it read. "We remain 100% committed to Arsenal and are not selling any stake in the club. We have not received any offer and we will not entertain any offer.
"Our ambition for Arsenal remains to compete to win the biggest trophies in the game and our focus remains on improving our competitiveness on the pitch to achieve this."
Sources have told ESPN that Ek's consortium could make an offer within the next two weeks, with Forbes valuing the Gunners at just over £2 billion.
Stan Kroenke took full control of Arsenal in August 2018 after buying out rival shareholder Alisher Usmanov in a £550m deal that valued the club at £1.8bn.
Around 2,000 supporters gathered at Emirates Stadium on Friday before the club's game against Everton to protest against KSE's ownership. Kroenke repeated an apology to staff on Tuesday's call for what they now believe was a mistake in signing up to the Super League.
Ek, who is estimated to be worth £3.4bn, is due to speak publicly about his interest in Arsenal in a television interview on Wednesday afternoon, having spent the past few days exploring a proposal after tweeting on Friday evening: "As a kid growing up, I've cheered for @Arsenal as long as I can remember. If KSE would like to sell Arsenal I'd be happy to throw my hat in the ring."
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April 28, 2021 at 12:13AM
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Arsenal chief Josh Kroenke informs staff that club will not be sold - sources - ESPN
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